Tag Archives: Berry Islands

ABACO FROM SPACE: NASA / ISS VIEWS 225 MILES ABOVE THE BLUE PLANET

I have had another look throughNASA‘s stock of Bahamas images taken from theINTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. They come in differing formats. Over time the Station’s orbit takes it directly over or close to Abaco. In the past I have posted images of Hurricane Irene and Hurricane Sandy taken from space; and one of the astonishing Bahama variations of the colour BLUE. Here is a further selection.

The first two images show an orbit from north to south. I have annotated the first for those unfamiliar with the geography of Abaco. I assume the next was taken only a second or two later, with the whole of the southern tip / National Park / Hole-in-the-Wall area of Abaco now shown.

This image gives an idea of the underwater connection between the island land masses. Here, a corrugated underwater sequence of ridges and troughs can be seen linking the southern end of Abaco with the south western end of Grand Bahama. Moore’s Island and, barely visible below it, Gorda (‘Castaway’) Cay rise above sea level between the two larger islands. The Berry Is. and Great Harbour Cay can be seen bottom left; Eleuthera snakes downwards bottom right.[At Rick Guest’s suggestion, I have rotated the image 90˚ from the original to make sense of a view distorted by angle (the space station’s), earth curvature and my own misinterpretation… It makes far more sense now, and I have corrected geographic errors accordingly… I’ve also added an annotated aeroplane’s-eye view below it, taken from much closer to the earth and therefore less subject to distortion. Many thanks, Rick]

Abaco seen from the southeast. Little Abaco and Grand Bahama are at the top, and all are shown inter-connected underwater. The reef chain of the Abaco Cays – the world’s third longest barrier reef – can clearly be seen on the right

This image appears to be a blow-up of the sharper ‘filmic’ second one above. The detail has become hazy and indistinct, though part of the island-long ribbon of highway remains clearly visible. Time for a photo-enhancing experiment…

I played around with the contrast and colour settings of the photo above, to see what effect it produced (below). The most marked result is that areas of low water – the coastline, the underwater high ground, the Marls and mangrove swamps, the low water of Cherokee Sound – became vividly highlighted. I don’t know what the small russet patches are, particularly visible in the Marls. My (ill-)educated guess is that they represent mangrove / mud islands that are underwater at high tide only, and that were in tidal transition as the Space Station passed overhead. Any ideas welcomed via the comment box.

The BMMRO has produced and distributed, courtesy of the always watchable CONCH SALAD TV, a fantastic 7 minute movie of the story of Rita and Georgie. It’s a heart warming tale of a West Indian manatee mother and calf pair that made the journey from Eleuthera via Nassau and then via cradle and boat transport to the Berry Islands for a new life. It’s a tale of conservation, preservation and hopefully (if they continue to get on well with the small resident population there) procreation… The main natural difficulty facing manatees in the Bahamas is the lack of fresh water – see how this is tackled. The main man-made problem comes from man’s use of the waters. For example, boat-strike / propeller damage is an ever-present danger. To see more about Manatees in this blog CLICK HERE To reach the BMMRO Facebook pageCLICK HERE

BMMRO INTRO

IT’S HERE!! MANATEES IN THE BAHAMAS. PRESENTED BY LOGGERHEAD PRODUCTIONS

The BMMRO has just published two online reports that will interest anyone who follows the news about Whales, Dolphins and Manatees in the Bahamas.

The first concerns the reintroduction of manatees to the wild – and offers the opportunity to adopt one of them in order to support the continuing work of the conservation of the small manatee population of the Bahamas. You could have a guess now at the number of recently recorded manatees: the answer is right at the bottom of the page. If you have followed this blog’s cetacean posts, you will have noticed my own interest in the continuing monthly sightings (mainly off the Berry Is.) I have had to reduce the size of the article, but if you click on it once – or twice – it enlarges to make it more legible.

I have summarised past BMMRO quarterly reports, highlighting particular features and photos. This time I’ve put in the whole report in (I hope) legible format. To see it on the BMMRO site CLICK===>>>BMMRO SPRING 2012

WEST INDIAN MANATEES IN THE BAHAMAS

The appearance of a mother and calf manatee off the Berry Islands in December 2011 – see BMMRO SIGHTINGSpost – led me to investigate these creatures a bit more. I added some more info and a couple of photos to that post, but really they deserve a post in their own right. So, with a wave of a flipper in the direction of Wiki and other open sources, here’s some more about these most strange-looking mammals, just in case you ever happen to come across one…

I will expand the post when I have read the latest “What Manatee?”, “Total Manatee” and “Manatee Monthly” magazines

MANATEESTrichechidae “Large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species in the order Sirenia. The name manatí comes from the Taíno, a pre-Columbian people of the Caribbean, meaning breast”

10 MEMORABLE MORSELS OF MANATEE MINUTIAE

The 4 species of Sirenia are the West Indian, Amazonian and West African manatee; and the Asian / Pacific dugong. Fossil remains of Florida manatees date back 45 million years; their closest living relative is the elephant

Manatees are also known as Sea Cows. Some say sailors who’d been at sea for too long took them to be mermaids, a mistake I doubt they made twice…

They can weigh up to 1,300 lb and measure up to 13 feet. Females are larger than males. Baby manatees may weigh 65 lb. Adult intestines can reach 45 meters which would take Usain Bolt 4.31 seconds to run past (if straightened out, obviously)

Accurate population estimates seem to be impossible to obtain, varying by season and by year for no apparent reason. Overall, the picture is of a declining population, with extinction likely without further protection (see below for the THREATS to the species)

West Indian Manatees can move freely between extremes of salinity, and may be found in warm shallow coastal waters, in estuaries, or migrated into rivers to freshwater springs (as in Florida). They cannot survive below 15°C (60°F). They have a propensity to hang around the warm-water outflows of power stations

Manatees have some intelligence and demonstrate discrimination and task-learning similar to dolphins.Their eyelids close “in a circular manner”, though I can’t quite picture this. They have only 6 teeth in each jaw, which are replaced throughout their lives

They breed every other year. Gestation lasts 12 months, and it takes a further 12 to 18 months to wean the calf. A single calf is born. Apart from mothers with a calf or males showing off to females, manatees tend to be solitary creatures

They are herbivores, eating many plant species, such as mangrove leaves, turtle grass, and types of algae. An adult manatee can eat up to 10% of its body weight per day. They have been known to eat small amounts of fish from nets

Half a manatee’s day is spent sleeping in the water. The rest of the time they graze in shallow waters. They swim at 3 to 5 mph, faster in short bursts. They may live up to 60 years (surprisingly, given their punishing daily schedule)

The oldest manatee in captivity is Snooty, at the South Florida Museum. He was born at the Miami Seaquarium on July 21, 1948 and came to the South Florida Museum in Bradenton, Florida in 1949

PREDATION, THREATS AND CONSERVATION – A SUMMARY The manatee is yet another creature whose worst enemy is mankind. The generalisations below apply to the West Indian manatee – elsewhere there may be different problems

Natural predatorsManatees have few natural predators except, occasionally, sharks and crocodiles. Predation is not a significant survival threat. The main causes of death are human-related, such as habitat destruction and human marine objects; and natural causes such as low water temperature and disease

HuntingHistorically, manatees were hunted for meat. They were easy to tempt to a canoe and then stun with a pole. Manatee hides were used – and traded – for canoes and shoes; their bones were used for ‘medicine’. Museums used to pay for hides or bones. Hunting was banned in 1893, though some poaching still occurs

Manatee Group Young Manatee

Ship-strikeManatees move slowly and are curious… Coastal development has led to many violent collisions with propeller-driven boats and ships, causing maiming, disfigurement, and death. Manatees are cut in half by large vessels like ships and tugs. Many others have propeller scars and they can often be identified by their scar patterns – some bear 50 scars and disfigurements from vessel strikes. Breeding ability may be affected. Infected injuries can prove fatal. Internal injuries also come from being trapped between hulls and docks. Studies of the attrition rate from “boat mortality” alone is causing much concern for the survival of the species. In 2009, of 429 Florida manatees recorded dead, 97 (23%) were killed by commercial and recreational vessels

Red tideAnother cause of manatee deaths is “red tide”, blooms of the microscopic marine algae Karenia Brevis. This produces toxins that affect the central nervous systems of sea creatures. In 1996 an outbreak off the Florida coast killed 151 manatees

Other threats(1) Fishing gear: hooks, metal weights, and especially mono-filament line clogging a manatee’s digestive system; entanglement in fishing lines (2) water-control structures such as navigation locks and floodgates (3) drowning in pipes and culverts (4) bizarrely, there have been numerous reports people, when allowed to swim with manatees in Florida, harassing them

CONSERVATION All three species of manatee are listed by the World Conservation Union as vulnerable to extinction. It is illegal under US federal and Florida law to injure or harm a manatee. They are classified as endangered by both the US state and the federal governments. Some vessels are now adapted to help prevent harm to manatees where they operate

Florida Sea Park Manatee

For news of forthcomingBMMRO research into the apparent recovery in the population of manatees in the BahamasCLICKHERE

Finally, here’s the link to a website that contains more manatee information and images. You can join, adopt a manatee, donate or buy stuff. Who wouldn’t want a T-shirt – or a ‘ManaT-shirt’, even – adorned with a picture of the lady above?CLICK LINK===>>>SAVE THE MANATEE CLUB